The Flaw in the Plan
by FromTheCouncilOfTimeWizards
Summary: A possible alternate ending for the last chapter of the Deathly Hallows.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling (in other words, not moi)**

**This is just gonna be a short story about a possible alternate ending for the Deathly Hallows. Starts off right when Harry and Voldemort are having a face off after the Battle of Hogwarts. **

Harry and Voldemort stood facing each other, surrounded by onlookers. No one moved except those two. They were holding their breath, astounded, as Harry goaded Voldemort, petrified where they stood.

"You are weak," Voldemort sneered. "You gave yourself up for others. You would have let me kill you."

"And yet," Harry said, "You still have not been able to kill me.

Voldemort's eyes flashed in anger. "I can kill you whenever I wish!" He raised his wand...

"No!"

Ron couldn't stand it anymore. He broke away from the onlooking circle and stumbled clumsily next to Harry. Voldemort turned his wand on Ron.

"Another spare," he said silkily.

Though the comment set off a wave of anger inside Harry, he forced himself to stay calm.

"Alright," he said, "Go ahead."

Hundreds of astounded eyes turned to him.

"What?"

Voldemort's eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"Go ahead. Kill him. If you are so powerful you can kill whoever you want, kill him. Kill him now."

Ron's eyes flickered nervously toward Harry. "Um, Harry?"

"Trust me," Harry replied out of the corner of his mouth.

Voldemort sneered. "Do you think I will not?"  
"Why would I think that?" Harry asked calmly.

His less-than-fearful answers seem to enrage his oponent. "You will regret it once I've finished with him!"

And, quick as lightning, his wand slashed in Ron's direction and he screamed his high, cold scream.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!"

Cries of "Ron!" could be heard from the sidelines as the spell hit Ron straight in the chest. He collapsed, and Harry caught him. He sensed every eye on the redhead's body.

Ron lay, motionless, in Harry's arms for a moment. And then, his eyes blinked open and he grabbed Harry's shoulder in an attempt to pull himself upright.

To say he looked confused was an understatement. Along with the crowd, he looked utterly bewildered. Then a triumphant cry came from somewhere in the mass of people.

A few feet away , Tom Riddle's body was splayed on the cold, stone floor.

The Death Eaters fled. At first, everyone was to shocked to do anything, but right as the last Death Eater was reaching the door, someone screamed "Stupefy!" and he collapsed in a heap.

Ron's family and Hermione were the first to reach them. Molly threw her arms around him, sobbing with the temporary terror of Ron dying and the overwhelming relief of him not.

He turned to his black-haired best friend. "But...how?"

Harry smiled at him. "The same reason I didn't die sixteen years ago. Because someone died for me."

**Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Still don't own anything remotely Harry Potter related. **

Hours later, almost everyone had either left of gone to bed. Ron and the Weasleys were still up, helping everyone clean up and get where they needed to go. Harry helped too, but from a distance. He was too tired to talk to them at the moment.

He stood up, wiping sweat from his forehead, having just finished piling the now vacant beds. Ron and his family were a little ways away, saying goodnight, about to sleep.

Suddenly, a hand slipped into his. Ginny stared up at him, her expression soft and caring.

"How are you?"

It was a pointless question, really. But he answered it anyway.

"Tired," he admitted. She gave him a hug, and he accepted it gladly.

When they broke apart, he glanced at Ron.

"Must be weird for him."

All night, people had been going up to him, shaking his hand, thanking him. They knew Harry was just as much to thank for the defeat of Voldemort - the story had gotten around about how it had been his sacrifice that had protected Ron(and everyone else, really) - but Ron was not used to the attention as much as Harry. He was another Boy Who Lived.

"Yeah," Ginny smiled. "Now he'll know what it's like to be you." The thought lifted his spirits a bit. Sure, he had never particularly enjoyed the attention, but Ron had always felt shunted, just a random person who was friends with the famous Chosen One. Though Harry wasn't looking forward to the increased attention he knew he would soon be getting, he hoped Ron would enjoy it. As much as he could, anyway, what with the losses they had suffered...

Ginny dragged him back to the present. "How did you know?"

"Hm?"

"How did you know he wouldn't die?"

Oh. Right. He should probably explain that.

"When Voldemort put the Body-Bind Curse on Neville, it worked until it put his life in danger. When he set the hat on fire, the curse broke, because Voldemort was unable to kill him."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then, "Harry?"

"Hm?"

"What you did was very brave and everything, but please don't do it again?"

He opened to his mouth say he couldn't make any promises, but she put a finger to his lips.

"Don't," she said, a little more firmly.

He didn't have the energy to argue with her. He gave her a quick kiss and began the walk up the staircases to his dorm. Tomarrow he would be working hard to rebuild the castle, but somehow he would get in some time to talk to Ron. He would no doubt want and explanation, and he would give a full one to both him and Hermione. Then there would be the press, and the requests for interviews, and funerals.

But now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

**That was it. There's not gonna be anymore chapters, I was origionally going to make it a oneshot, but ended up splitting it into two. **

**Review and tell me what you think!**


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